So, today we're going to talk about the beginning, the start of Jesus' life and his birth and the birth narrative. And we're going to talk about the end, the finish of his life on the cross because the cross and Christmas are intrinsically connected. And I would say that the story of our redemption begins in a manger. And when you think about a manger and you think about the birth of Jesus, don't think about a building, think about a cave. And in Israel, if you go to Israel, There's limestone everywhere, and there's limestone caves everywhere.
And I actually saw a cave that was being used at one point for animals. And so, one of the things is people lived in the caves, but they also kept their animals in caves. And so, Jesus was probably born in a cave where the animals were kept. And the manger may have been wood, but it may have been carved out of stone. And it was literally a food trough.
And the story of our redemption, the story of Christmas, right, it begins in a manger. But it's paid for on a cross and is confirmed by an empty tomb. In essence, Christmas leads to the cross. and ends in an empty tomb. You see, the redemption of humanity begins in a lowly manger.
And it's paid for on Calvary's Hill and is emphasized in an empty grave. Christmas is the beginning of the story. that leads the cavalry. and ends with an empty tomb. And I love to ask the question: what is the story of Christmas?
Because, you know, our culture is increasingly, you know. Biblically illiterate, right? And I'm not trying to be cruel, but just in a lot of people don't know the story of Christmas. And one of the things we try to do, even our Christmas Eve services, is we try to just tell the story of Jesus' birth. And we know that this happened probably around 4 BC is when Jesus was probably born.
It could have been as early as 6 BC. They date him by that because Herod the Great is in his birth story. And Herod the Great was not called great because he was a nice guy. He'd actually murdered some of his own kids and one of his wives and was a pretty rough guy. But he was a great builder.
And he's in there and he died in 4 BC. And so we're really confident that Jesus was born no later than 4 BC. And his mom, Mary, was this teenage young lady, and she was betrothed to Joseph. And you're like, oh, that's kind of weird, that young. But in that time, in that part of the world, and around the world, most women were getting married around that age.
And so she was betrothed to a guy named. Joseph and betrothal was not like our modern-day engagements. It was Like they were legally married but not living together yet. And typically, what would happen is the parents would arrange the marriages, arrange marriages, and some parts of the world still do that. And then the husband would typically either build a house or add a room onto his parents' house.
And when it was ready, then they would go and get their bride. And so Mary is this young lady. You know the story. An angel appears to her and tells her that she's going to be pregnant. She's like, hey, I haven't been with anybody.
How is that possible? And the angel tells her, hey, the Holy Spirit's going to come upon you. And then she rushes up to help her relative Elizabeth have John the Baptist, right? Because John the Baptist was Jesus' cousin. And so she goes up there.
And when she comes back to town, the belly is showing. And Joseph is like, We got a problem and decides that he's going to divorce her quietly. He could have her stone, but decides he's not going to. And in the end, he takes her to be his wife because an angel appears to him and says, Hey, this is from God. And so this birth narrative happens, but it happens not in Nazareth, but in Bethlehem, close to Jerusalem, because Augustus Caesar, who was Caesar from 27 BC to 14 BC.
AD had declared a census, and the reason they did a census was because they wanted to tax you, and so they wanted to know who you were so they could make you pay your taxes. And so they were from the town of Bethlehem originally, so they had to go back to their hometown, and so that's where Jesus was born. And we don't know what month.
Some say December, some say September, some say March. I don't really care, to be honest with you, but I know this: that the birth of Jesus occurred around 4 BC. And we know much about a little bit about his birth narrative, but we don't know much about Jesus' childhood growing up. Most of the Gospels are really about his public years of ministry. But when we ask the question, what is Christmas or what is the story of Christmas?
I would say that the story of Christmas is the story of the greatest gift ever given. As a kid growing up, I remember my parents got me a train set one time. I thought that was the greatest thing ever, right? I just thought that was the best gift I could ever get. And so I just want to tell you that the story of Christmas is a story of the greatest gift ever given, and the gift is grace.
G-R-A-C-E, God's riches at Christ's expense. Can you say that with me? God's riches at Christ's expense. That's the gift. That was given at Christmas.
And I wrote a poem, it's pretty bad. And I used the word Christmas as an acronym in taking each letter of Christmas. And I wrote this, and later on, I'll be signing autographs.
So if you like that, copies. I got a kid in college. I'll sell them. That's what I'll do. All right, so Christmas.
Christ Jesus was born when Rome ran the world and all that was in view. Herod the Great Though not a prince, ruled Israel as king of the Jews. Right then, God sent an angel named Gabriel to a girl betrothed in Nazareth named Mary. informing her that though yet a virgin, a son she would miraculously carry. Seeing in a dream an angel telling the news, Joseph married Mary and did so without Terry.
traveling to Bethlehem because of Caesar's decree, and having nowhere to reside, Mary, still a virgin, gave birth in a stable with her husband by her side. Angels announced to shepherds in fields nearby to search for a baby in a manger. Savior would the Son of God be to all who believe, though yet strangers. He's not too bad, isn't it? He's not too bad.
That's not bad.
Alright. Stop it, stop it.
Okay, all right.
So this is the story of Jesus' birth. But Christmas is connected because the end of the Christmas story is. The cross. And We're going to talk about that here in a moment. Jesus' death was dated either AD 30 or AD 33.
And it would happen in the Gregorian calendar, which is the one we use now, would have been April 1st. It was Nisan 15 in the Jewish calendar, which is a calendar based on moon cycles. And it happened on Passover. His public ministry years, his three public ministry years, are dated by four Passovers. And so, Jesus, the end of his public ministry, he was literally crucified, which was a humiliating way to be killed by the Roman government on Passover.
And Passover was a festival that the Jews did to remember. when God miraculously delivered them from Egyptian slavery through the hand of Moses. And they call it Passover because the last plague that Moses brought on the nation of Egypt was that the firstborn of every family would die, except if they took the blood of a yearling lamb and placed it over the doorpost of their home, and the death angel would pass over. And so it's interesting, isn't it, that Jesus Right, who is called one of his names is the Lamb of God. Died on Passover, right?
And there is a reason for that because he is the ultimate Passover lamb, right? No longer do we have to sacrifice animals so their blood could be shed for the forgiveness of sins that comes through Christ.
So this moment happens. Around April 1st. And the Gospels record seven statements Jesus made on the cross. He he may have said other things, we don't know, but there's seven things. And in the order they're recorded, In the sixth of the seventh thing, he says it is finished.
He says other things. He says, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. He says, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. He says that to the thief on the cross. A woman, behold thy son, behold thy mother.
It says that to John to take care of his mom. He quotes a psalm when he says, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Eloi, Eloi, Lama Sabachthanai, right? And in fact, some people, pastors have been preaching on Elijah.
Some people thought, because Eloi sounds a lot like Eliyahu, which was the word for Elijah, thought he was calling Elijah. He said, I thirst. Literally, he was thirsty. It is finished. And then Luke records: Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.
And so these are the seven statements that are recorded at the end of Jesus' life. If you've got your Bibles, we're going to read that sixth statement out of John chapter 19, verse 28. John chapter 19, verse 28. And would you be so gracious? Would you stand with me for the reading of the word?
Would you stand with me at Benson and stand with me at North Raleigh and over at the acoustic service as well? We're going to read this. I'm reading from the English Standard Version. It says this in verse 28. After this, Jesus knowing that all was now finished, said to fulfill the scripture.
I thirst. And a jar full of sour wine, that would have been like a vinegar-based wine, and most scholars think probably the soldiers, it was a common drink for soldiers to have, were the ones that had the wine. A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine and a hyssop branch. and lifted it up and they held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, It is finished.
And he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Amen. You may be seated, but God has blessed the reading of his word. The message says it this way. Jesus, seeing that everything had been completed so that the scripture record might also be complete, then said, I'm thirsty.
And a jug of sour wine was standing by, and someone put a sponge soaked with the wine and a javelin and lifted it to his mouth. After he took the wine, Jesus said, It's done. Complete. Bowing his head, he offered up his spirit. When Jesus said it is finished, What did he mean?
Premier, the story of our redemption begins in a manger, is paid for on a cross, as confirmed by an empty tomb. When he said on the cross, it is finished. What did he mean? The Greek word there is to telestie. Can you say that with me?
Tetelestie. Yeah. It meant it is finished. It was the perfect tense. of the Greek word teleos.
And the perfect tense is important here. Because the perfect tense in that Koine Greek, the spoken Greek of Jesus' time. meant a completed action with continuing Results.
So therefore, to telestai means it is finished. It stands finish. And it always will be finished. It means that what Christ Came to do, was fully accomplished, and continues to be finished, continues to be accomplished.
So If it's finished. What is finished? What was he referring to? Certainly there was People who still needed to hear the gospel. Certainly, there were people who were sick, who still needed to be healed.
Certainly, the gospel had not gone beyond. The nation of Israel. What was finished?
Well, the first thing I would say is I think that one of the things that you're referring to, and there are more than I'm saying that I'm sure we're finished, is one is, I think. The work he came to do was finished. In John 17 at the Last Supper, Jesus is praying in prayer. And he says in verse 4 of John 17, I glorified you, that's the Father, the Heavenly Father, on earth. Having Accomplished The work that you gave me.
to do. One of those works, Luke 19:10, Jesus said, For the Son of Man is a title he used for himself often. came to seek and save The loss. He can save who? The lost.
That was a part of the work of Christ. In fact, in the story of the woman, the Samaritan woman at the well. When the disciples go in town to get food, and Jesus is out at the well and has the interaction with the woman, and they come back. And he says to them, I have food you know nothing of. And they think, well, did he get food somewhere else?
He says this in John 4:34, my food. is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish His work. See, Jesus was fully in tune with what God intended him to do. For I have come down from heaven John 6.38, not to do my own will, But the will of him Who sent me? There's a really interesting passage in Matthew 11, verse 2 through 6, where John the Baptist, remember, was his cousin, but he was also a guy that was preaching.
And Herod, not Herod the Great, but one of Herod's sons now had had him arrested because Herod had married a woman that shouldn't be his wife. And Paul was calling him out. I mean, pardon me, John was calling him out on it and had him arrested. And so he was in jail. And John really believed that Jesus was the Messiah, the promised one the Israelite people were looking for.
And so he sent disciples to Jesus. And it says in Matthew 11, verse 3: They asked Jesus, Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another? Right? Are you the Messiah? And Jesus answered them, Go and tell John.
What you hear. And see what you hear. What you actually see with your own eyes. See, Jesus of Nazareth. Actually existed and walked the earth.
Even atheist scholars who don't believe in God. stand with the truth That Jesus existed, and there's evidence for Jesus outside of Scripture as well, in historical writings, that these stories actually happened.
So Jesus says to him, Go and tell John what you hear and see. The blind received their sight. And the lame walk. And lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.
So, when Jesus said it is finished, one of the things he'd be saying is. The work he came to do was done. He had accomplished it in full. What else was finished?
Well, I believe the fulfillment of the old covenant was finished. When we talk about the Bible, we have the old what? What do we call it? The old what? Testament and the new what?
Right, and the word testament there is a similar word, it really means covenant. Or you can think of it as a modern like contract. And the old covenant, the old testament. Was based on a promise that God gave to a guy named Abram, who became Abraham, right? And God miraculously gave him a son named Isaac, and then Jacob, and then the 12 tribes of Israel came out of Jacob.
And God had an agreement, a covenant, a contract with the people of Israel that he would be their God and they would be his people. And that because God was perfect and holy, they could be in relationship with him, but they were sinners like you and I are today. And so there was an order of sacrifice, and it was a shedding of blood, animal sacrifice. And through that blood, sins were forgiven. It was the old covenant.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:17 Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. That's the Old Testament. I have not come to abolish them, but to Fulfill them. In Luke 18:31, Jesus said, See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.
All the prophets in the Old Testament. For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him. And on the third day, he will rise. Jesus knew that he was going to a cross.
In fact, Matthew records 11 times a statement like this: this was too fast. Fulfill, for example, Matthew 8, 17. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah. He took our illnesses and bore our diseases. Matthew records that 11 times, the New Testament writers.
Forty-four times used fulfillment language to describe Jesus fulfilling Old Testament foretellings of. The Messiah. In fact, some scholars know Jesus fulfilling over 300 prophecies regarding the Messiah, for example. And this was in a passage we read. Psalm 69:21, they gave me poison for food, and from my thirst, they gave me sour wine to drink.
So Jesus fulfilled the old Covenant, right? In fact, on the road to Emmaus, After he had risen from the dead, there were a couple disciples walking along, and Jesus came alongside of them, but they didn't recognize him. And it says in verse 25 of Luke 24, and he, meaning Jesus, said to them, O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken, was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory? And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures. The things concerning himself.
When Jesus said it is finished, he meant the work he came to do. Fulfillment of the old covenant. You see, the story of our redemption begins in a manger, is paid for on a cross, and is confirmed by an empty tomb. He also meant that the establishment of a new covenant. was established as well.
This Thanksgiving, we took communion at the beginning of Thanksgiving, right? Never done that before. I think it's a new tradition we might do. And we took a little bit of juice and a little bit of bread. And why we do that?
Because Jesus said to do that in remembrance of me, to remember what he had done. And here's Jesus' own words in Luke 22 at the Last Supper. And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it. It would have been a solid piece of bread. He actually snapped it open and he gave it to them, saying, This is my body, which is given for you.
Do this in remembrance of me. And likewise, the cup after they had eaten, saying, This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. The new what? The new covenant. Jesus finished that work of the establishment of a new agreement.
He fulfilled the old covenant and he established a new one in his own blood because being a follower of Christ is not about what you do. It's not spelled D-O. It is about what Christ has done. It's D-O-N-E. Amen.
Can we thank God for that? It's about what he's done for us. That's a good thing. Amen. So, what else did he complete?
What else did he finish?
Well, he finished paying the price for sin. In Hebrews 10:12, it says, But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. That's a completion visualization. Sat down, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering, he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
So, when he said it's finished, it was the work he came to do: the fulfillment of the old covenant, the establishment of a new covenant, the price of sin, and the foundation of his church. In Matthew 16, there's a moment where Jesus asked his disciples, Hey, who do the crowd say I am? Who do you say I am? And Peter makes this great confession: You're the Christ, the Son of the Living God, you're the Messiah, you're the God-man. And Jesus says this in verse 18 and Matthew 16.
And I tell you, you are Peter. And on this rock, and I love that Peter is the Greek word is Petros, which meant stone, right? And on this rock, Petra, bedrock, right? What was the bedrock? The bedrock is who Jesus is.
I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. When Jesus said it was finished, it was the foundation of his church, the price of sin, the establishment of a new covenant, the fulfillment of the old covenant, and the work he came to do. The story of our redemption begins in a manger, but is paid for on a cross and confirmed by an empty tomb. In fact, when we talk about Jesus fulfilling scripture, we can see Jesus fulfilling things and being written about in every book, in all 66 books of the Bible. In Genesis, He's the bread of life.
In Exodus, He's the Passover lamb. In Leviticus, He's our high priest. In Numbers, The fire by night. In Deuteronomy, he's Moses' voice. In Joshua, he is salvation's choice.
Judges, lawgiver. In Ruth, the kinsman, redeemer. In 1 to 2 Samuel, he's our trusted prophet. In Kings and Chronicles, he's sovereign. In Ezra, he's a true and faithful scribe.
In Nehemiah, he's the rebuilder of broken walls and lives. In Esther, he is Mordecai's courage. In Job, the timeless redeemer. In Psalms, he is our morning song. In Proverbs, he's wisdom's cry.
In Ecclesiastes, the time and season. In the song of Solomon, he is the lover's dream. In Isaiah, he's the prince of peace. In Jeremiah, the weeping prophet. In lamentations, the cry for Israel.
In Ezekiel, he's the call from sin. In Daniel, the stranger in the fire. In Hosea, he's forever faithful. In Joel, he is the Spirit's power. In Amos, the arms that carry us.
In Obadiah, he's the Lord our. Savior. In Jonah, he's the great missionary. In Micah, the promise of peace. In Nahum, he is our strength and our shield.
In Habakkuk and Zephaniah, he is pleading for revival. In Haggai, he restores the lost heritage. In Zechariah, our fountain. In Malachi, he's the son of righteousness, rising with healing in his wings. In Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, he is God, man, Messiah.
In the book of Acts, he is the fire from heaven. In Romans, he's the grace of God. In Corinthians, the power of love. In Galatians, he is freedom from the curse of sin. In Ephesians, our glorious treasure.
In Philippians, the servant's heart. In Colossians, he's the Godhead Trinity. Thessalonians, our coming king. In Timothy, Titus, Philemon. He is our mediator and our faithful pastor.
In Hebrews, the everlasting covenant. In James, the one who heals the sick. In 1 and 2 Peter, he is our shepherd. In John and in Jude, he's the lover coming for his bride. And in the Revelations, He is King of kings and Lord of lords, the Prince of Peace, the Son of Man, the Lamb of God, the great I am.
He's the Alpha and Omega, our God and our Savior. He is Jesus Christ, the Lord. And when time is no more, he is. Amen? This is what it meant when he said to tell us, Die, it is finished.
And it applies to us as well. When we choose to follow Christ, when we choose to put our weight on him, when we follow Jesus, the cross of Christ means we are finished as well. What do we finish from? We are finished from trying to overcome sin and its destructive power in our lives. Romans 6:6 says, We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.
For one who has died has been set free from sin. We no longer have to overcome. Our fleshly tendencies, he overcame them for us. And how many of you, myself included, tried to overcome them by ourselves and it didn't work, right? Only Jesus can help us to overcome our selfish inward tendencies.
We are also finished working for the approval of others. Amen. You don't have to get approval from other people because the one that matters the most is the one you're getting approval from. 1 Thessalonians 2:4. But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.
When we follow Jesus, the cross of Christ means we are finished trying to overcome sin and its destructive power in our lives, working for the approval of others, and we are finished looking for an unshakable identity. 2 Corinthians 5:17, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new what? Creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come.
When we follow Jesus, it's not an identity we achieve, Tim Keller said. It is one we receive. And it can only come from Christ, and it is secure because it's not based on our performance. Or the view of others, it's based on what Christ has done for us on the cross. Amen.
Can we give Him praise for that this morning? When we follow Jesus across the Christ means we are finished searching for purpose and meaning in life. Ephesians 2, 8 through 10 says, For by grace you've been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
When we follow Jesus, We are finished searching. for purpose and meaning in life, because our purpose and meaning comes from Him. Just as Jesus got direction from the Holy Spirit about his life and his direction, we as fathers of Christ hear from the Holy Spirit, affirm through his word, through the teaching of others, and we know God's will for our lives. We don't have to search for it anymore. When we follow Jesus, the cross of Christ means we are finished wondering what our eternal destiny will be.
Philosophers say that everybody asks questions of origin, purpose, identity, and meaning. And the destiny question is one of what happens when I die. When we follow Jesus, we don't have to wonder what happens when we die. John 11, 25, Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.
Yet shall he what? Live. You do not have to live in fear what happens when you die when you follow Jesus. Recently, Pastor Danny's mom passed away, a godly woman, Joyce Collins, went to her funeral last week. And, you know, she lived this incredible life of a witness for Christ, was in ministry for decades.
And I'm telling you, when someone dies like that, there is such an incredible celebration, and there is a peace and comfort in knowing they are with the Lord. Ever amen? No wondering.
So The story of our redemption begins in a manger. It's paid for on a cross and it's confirmed by an empty tomb. When you follow Jesus across the Christ means we are finished trying to overcome sin and its destructive power in our lives, and working for the approval of others, and looking for an unshakable identity, and searching for purpose and meaning in life, and wondering what our eternal destiny will be. But what is the gospel? If I was to use my hand as an illustration, I would say, thumbs up, good news.
God loves people. That's the gospel. Romans 5:8, but God shows his love for us that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. I would take my pointer finger and I'd point at you. And I got three fingers pointing at me, and I said that the gospel is bad news.
You're a sinner, and I'm a sinner, too. Romans 3.23 for all of sin and fall short of the glory of God. If I take my center finger, I would say the gospel is there's a problem solved. Jesus paid the price. Romans 6, 23, for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
I take my ring finger and I'd say, put a ring on it. Repent and commit your life to Christ. Romans 10, 9, and 10. Because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and...
Is saved. And finally, the little pinky finger, it's a little bit of faith. We are saved by faith. Not by works. Romans 10:13.
For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. And how do we respond to the gospel? It's as simple as ABC: A, admit and repent. 1 John 1:9, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Acts 3:19, repent, therefore, and turn back that your sins may be blotted out.
We admit and repent. Be an ABC, we believe in Christ. We put our faith in Him. We put our trust in Him. Just like you're sitting in the chair you are now.
It is your weight is upon it. You are trusting in the chair.
Well, that is what it's like to follow Christ. We're putting our weight and trust in Him for our salvation, for our eternal life, right? And then C, ABC, commit your life to him, right? We make a commitment to serve him. Therefore, Philippians 2:9, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name.
So that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth. And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. When we become followers of Christ, When we receive the gift of God's grace, remember Christmas is a story of the greatest gift ever given. That gift is grace, God's riches at Christ's expense. When we receive that gift, it means that we accept him as the forgiver of our life, our savior, and we submit to him as the Lord of our life, our leader, our master.
And when that happens. We're done trying to overcome sin. We're done working for the approval of others. We're done looking for an identity anymore. We're done searching for purpose and meaning, and we're done wondering what our eternal destiny will be.
We're done. Because it's been done in Christ. Can we give him praise for that? Can you give him praise for that? Would you just for a moment?
On every campus and online, and at the acoustic service, would you just close your head and, I mean, bow your head and close your eyes? Or you can close your head, that's what I often do. Bow your head and close your eyes. Let's pray. Father, I pray for those this morning that have never received that gift of salvation that.
Lord, if they are at a place where they're ready to turn from everything else and everyone else. To you. That in this moment They would simply pray a prayer to you, Lord, not to me or anybody else. And they would just simply ask, Jesus to come into their life. and to forgive them of their sin.
and they would repent of their ways. And they would ask Jesus to come in and take over. their life. He's in charge now. I ask Jesus to Fill them With the Holy Spirit.
that they can be empowered to be the believer God has called them to be. And finally, Just ask Jesus, hey, hey, take me to heaven with you when I die. It's a simple prayer. But if it's sincere That means that you've accepted that gift of salvation, the gift of God's grace. And you are now in the kingdom of heaven, in the Lamb's book of life.
In Jesus' name, amen. Maybe Maybe this time of year is difficult for you, or maybe you're in a season where you've kind of given up hope. I just want you to know But the hope that you find in Christ never fades. Doesn't rise or fall with the stock market or your job or your relationships or your health. It's constant.
Jesus Christ is same yesterday, today, and forever. You can put your hope in him today. He won't let you down. Would you stand with me this morning? Worship team is going to lead us out.
And then I'm going to come back. and close this out. in a moment. Who could imagine?
So great a mercy What heart could fall? Such found this Ready. The God of ages Step down from glory. Yeah. To wear my sin.
Hear me. Where my sea. The cross has come. I am forgiven. The King of Kings calls me His own beautiful Savior.
I'm yours forever. Oh, Jesus Christ, my living hope. Oh, Hallelujah. Praise the one who set me free. Hallelujah.
Death has lost its grip on me. You have broken every chain. There's salvation in your name, Jesus Christ, my living home. Then came the morning that sealed the promise, your very body. Begin to breathe out of the silence.
Lord, declare the grave has no claim on me. And Jesus Christ is the liberal. Praise the one who set me free. Hallelujah. Death has lost its grip on me.
You have broken every chain. There's salvation in your name. Jesus Christ, my living home. Oh, Jesus Christ, my living home. Amen.
He is our living hope. Isn't it great to know that at Christmastime We're talking about something that still has an impact on our lives today. Amen. that that greatest gift that's been given is still there. And that gift of grace is at the tree of everyone's life from the day they're born to the day they die, and they just got to receive it.
And I failed earlier. If you've made that decision today, we have a book that we want to give you called You Said Yes, and it'll help you walk out your decision to follow Jesus. You can text that. There's a QR code as well, they probably put up earlier. I want to encourage you to do that.
Would you lift your hands? We're going to receive this blessing from the Lord. Father, I pray in this church's behalf. that out of and according to the glorious riches of Christ Jesus. that you would strengthen them with your power through your spirit and their inner beings.
so that Christ would dwell in their hearts through faith. And that they, being rooted and established in love, Would have power to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. and that they would know this love that surpasses knowledge. That they may be filled to the measure of all the fullness that is in you in Jesus' name. Everybody said.
Amen. Merry Christmas to you guys. We love you. We'll see you next week. Mm-hmm.
